The Odd Way of Life (completed)

Battle

A cannon shot was heard.
Everyone jumped.
They had missed.
Alfred's ears rang and he could only barely hear the sound of Kiku's voice telling him to get down. They hadn't prepared for anything of this sort, never trained in proper combat. Alfred had thought that the likelihood of encountering pirates in the vast expanse of the ocean was one in a million. He was right,

but they were that one.

He began to pick himself up, not only feeling the humongous sway of the boat but the vibrations of the bullet that echoed past his face.

'They have guns!' He thought simply as he crouched back down and searched around himself for Kiku. The man was nowhere within sight. 'Where in the hell-' Alfred stopped abruptly as he felt a bullet flow swiftly past his cheek. He could feel the cut along his cheek as he held his thumb up to feel it. As he brought his hand back, he saw the small droplets of blood on his fingers. Too close.

He raced for the stairwell leading to the lower deck, keeping his head as low as he could. He only thought for himself and Kiku. 'Where is he?!' As he felt his feet reach the wood of the lower deck, he remembered the armory and began sprinting down the hall, almost running into Feli and Ludwig, who were holding on firmly to both each other's hands and their own scimitars. Alfred noted this fact as he kept running, reaching the door quickly.

As he opened it, he was amazed only for a moment when his eyes landed upon the copious amounts of weapons. Dozens of scimitars lined the walls in their respected racks, but also there were shotguns and bullet cases in a now broken glass cabinet on the back wall. Finally, there were foreign weapons, tachis, katanas, you name it, they were there. The only real armour they had were about twenty chain mail tunics folded not-so-neatly in an open wardrobe.

All of this Alfred took in in less than a second before he noticed a calm and collected Kiku with a shotgun holstered carefully on his belt, observing and debating on whether he should grab the dagger or the tachi for hand-to-hand combat. Alfred walked up behind him and tried to regain his composure before tapping him on the shoulder. He could only think how much better of a leader Kiku was over himself as the other boy turned on his heels quickly and wasn't surprised in the least to see Alfred.

"Alfred-kun, you need to prepare yourse-' His voice was drowned out by the sudden sound of another cannon. They had the aim of Storm Troopers. It was ridiculous.

Alfred was shook up, timid, and he couldn't calm his racing heartbeat. Kiku only looked at the ceiling above them and hurried his preparation, finally choosing the tachi and tucking it to his side.

"Let's go." Kiku said assuredly, turning to look Alfred in the eyes sincerely. He gave him a quick peck on the lips before grabbing his hand firmly and pulling him along to the deck.

When they arrived, the other boat was surprisingly close now, to the point where you could just about see the people scurrying about. Feli and Ludwig were firing avidly at their targets from the edge of the boat, disarming maybe one or two people in a minute. Yao and Ivan had their heads down and were loading their guns all while assessing the situation. The boat was close enough to see the name.

Dinistrio

He was welsh, and he had taken enough of it in school to know what it meant, but he almost wished he didn't, because as he translated it, a shiver was sent down his spine.

It meant destroyer.

He was sure Kiku knew as well, his face was pale and his hand shifted shakily to his left side where his gun was holstered. He looked to Alfred worriedly, all being said with his eyes.

His eyes told Alfred that he thought they had no chance, that they were going to die. Alfred glanced back with a sad look of comfort.

Kiku closed his eyes and nodded, jogging over to the ledge of the side of their ship to hide behind. Alfred took a moment to regain himself before doing the same and standing beside him.

"Have you seen Arthur?" Kiku inquired. Any thought of his brother hadn't crossed Alfred's mind with all of the chaos happening.

"No, now that you mention it, I haven't." Alfred brushed a hand through his hair in sudden worry as he looked around. No sign of the man. His angst grew stronger until he saw a mess of golden blond hair step from the stairs and a pair of black boots landed onto the deck. No pun intended, Arthur was decked out. He looked an awful lot like Alfred as he stood with a confident swagger, hands on his hips. He wore heavy chainmail over his usual garb, and on both sides of him a loose belt held a beautiful rapier with a jewel-encrusted hilt and a copper shotgun, with a small leather bag next to it, most likely filled with bullets. He was better dressed than Kiku or Alfred by a long shot. He ducked suddenly with surprise as a bullet flew past him, and he began to run and take cover behind a wooden box.

Alfred glanced around the corner of the ledge he hid behind to process the situation. The ships were so close they were practically touching, so close that he could see the pirates themselves. A tall man with darker skin stood out obviously as their commander, or however they addressed him. He looked almost middle eastern, but had a lighter tint to him that seemed European. 'Somewhere in the middle.' Alfred thought to the maps he had so carefully and methodically studied, and figured he was probably from Turkey. He wore a fancifully simple black outfit, a detailed black long coat with golden buttons and a bejeweled collar over a simple black shirt and trousers. Alfred wouldn't admit it, but he was terrified of this man. He looked brutish and fierce as he held a firm scowl and sent a piercing stare suspiciously close to where he and Kiku had hidden. Alfred turned back, his back against the wooden ledge, and glanced to Kiku, who was still in an extreme calm as he finished loading his gun.

He slowly lifted himself above the ledge and pointed the shotgun, aiming at the Turk on the other side. He had his back to them. Kiku breathed out as Alfred just stared.

He fired.